“Juno Rushdan is the real deal. Every Last Breath is an electric combination of heart-stopping thriller and swoon-worthy romance.”—LEXI BLAKE, New York Times bestselling author48 hours, 2 covert operatives, 1 chance to get it right Maddox Kinkade is an expert at managing the impossible. Tasked with neutralizing a lethal bioweapon, she turns to the one person capable of helping her stop the threat … turns to the one person capable of helping her stop the threat of pandemic in time: the love of her life, back from the dead and mad as hell at her supposed betrayal. Recruiting Cole to save millions of lives may be harder than resisting the attraction still burning between them, but Maddox will do whatever it takes…even if it destroys her.
When Maddox crashes back into Cole Matthews’ life, he wants to fight back. He wants to hate her. But the crisis is too strong to ignore, and soon the two former lovers find themselves working side-by-side in a breakneck race to stop a world-class killer with a secret that could end everything.
The clock is ticking.
A race-against-time romantic thriller, perfect for fans of JD Robb and Mary Burton!
The Final Hour Series:
Every Last Breath (Book 1)
Nothing to Fear (Book 2)
Until the End (coming early 2020)
What People Are Saying About Juno Rushdan:
“Tense and fulfilling. Settle back and savor this one.”— STEVE BERRY, New York Times bestselling author
“Fast-paced, intense, and sexy—a must-read romantic suspense!”—CYNTHIA EDEN, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
“A fast-paced, spine-tingling thriller you won’t want to put down!”—LAURA GRIFFIN, New York Times bestselling author
“An unputdownable thrill ride.”—LEXI BLAKE, New York Times bestselling author
“A romantic thriller that handily juggles emotional intensity and a heart-pounding, James Bond-ian adventure.”—Kirkus
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Great romantic thriller. I couldn’t put it down!
The beginning of Every Last Breath by Juno Rushdan got bogged down with the introduction of all the characters, but started to become fast paced about the middle of the second chapter. Rushdan puts a lot of detail into the character development. There is a lot going on in this book. And even though the main story is wrapped up at the end of this book, there is still a thread that leads into the second book in the series, NOTHING TO FEAR. I will definitely be back for book two.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this novel.
Juno Rushdan’s debut novel, Every Last Breath, is intense. Suspense, action, and explicit sex scenes are about equally dispersed through the book. What is missing are the quiet sequels after the action to allow the reader to recuperate.
Protagonist Maddox moves in the world of the Gray Box, a covert extra-legal ops group that does work the CIA and FBI cannot. I loved the strength of special agent Maddox. She’s capable and tough cookie who remains feminine and who refuses to crumble under pressure. She mourns the death of her fiance. Though shocked when she learns he faked his death, she must team up with Cole to save the world from a mutated version of smallpox.
Cole is a total alpha male, ferocious, strong, and emotionally-wounded. The couple must put aside old—and new—feelings and sexual attraction long enough to save the world.
I enjoyed reading the author bio and learning that Rushdan is a former intelligence officer herself. This background allows the verisimilitude that jumps at the reader from every page. A great book if you like the romance trope of second chance love and unrelenting action.
As I read this book, I felt smarter, so thank you, Juno Rushdan, for that treat. The intricacies of espionage and war and love and enemies felt elevated in her hands, and now I have an author whose books I simply must read.
Maddox and Cole have to survive betrayals at every turn, whether perceived or real, in order to be together and in order to defeat the enemy (in this case, a pandemic that will kill off millions). Each feels betrayed by the other over something that happened in their past (Cole’s belief in Maddox’s culpability is more forgivable to me, but that could be because I have a big fat crush on him), so first they need to overcome that.
There is a lot going on in this book, but it doesn’t feel overwhelming. Juno Rushdan uses a pretty steady pace, perfectly placing her moments of romantic tension, suspense, and sexy times. I love Maddox and Cole. They’re one of those duos who work so well. They come alive, largely because Rushdan lets them make their mistakes and learn from them. She knows when to turn up the heat on their romance, too; those scenes will make you sigh the sighs and squeeze your thighs.
This is the first in a series, but I’d describe this one as stand-alone-ish. There is a subplot that rages on, something Rushdan clearly plans to address in future books. The Cole and Maddox arc, though, feels complete in that you kind of know where they are–separately and together–even though you want more. I’m curious as to how they will be present in future books, which I plan to inhale just as I did this one.
I think this one may just be a case of not the book for me, or maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood for this genre, but I had the hardest time getting into this story. I think some of the problem lay in the writing style and cutesy ways of describing things because that certainly wore thin for me. There really weren’t any serious lag times in the book despite its length. In fact, it’s packed full of action and what should’ve been an edge of your seat plot. I did find the character development lacking, especially on the relationship front. It felt like most of the angst there took place in the character’s heads rather than anything actually being hashed out between them. This one does have unanswered questions in the end, so maybe there will be more character development in upcoming books, but I think I’ll pass given my feelings for this one.
Juno Rushdan is a new author, and since I love romantic suspense, I had to give Every Last Breath a try. Especially since she’s a former Air Force active duty member. As the wife of a retired Air Force airman, I try really hard to support fellow military spouses and active duty members that write novels. At least romance novels. (Other genres just don’t interest me, I’m sorry to say.) So I thought I’d give this new author a try. And let me tell you…I’m now anxiously awaiting the next 2 books in this series! There were parts of the plot that got a little confusing, but in the end, it was just a really good read!
Romantic suspense is my great love. The deeper the intrigue and the more twists and turns, the more I love the story. And this one had them all in spades. It’s a longer novel, but it was very fast-paced, and I found myself up way too late because I could NOT put this sucker down. For lovers of contemporary romantic suspense, you’re going to love this book. It’s also a second chance romance, and that’s also one of my favorite tropes.
Now…I’m not so patiently waiting on book two!
NICUnurse’s Rating: I give Every Last Breath by Juno Rushdan 4.5 stars!